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Trump Sets Sights on Panama Canal in Weekend Speech; Biden Commutes Federal Death Penalty Sentences. Aired 6-6:30a ET
Aired December 23, 2024 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
RAHEL SOLOMON, CNN ANCHOR/CORRESPONDENT: Good morning. It is Monday, December 23, and right now on CNN THIS MORNING.
[06:01:03]
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DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: Because we're being ripped off at the Panama Canal. He just said take it back. And that's a good idea.
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SOLOMON: Controlling the canal. Donald Trump's new threat to take it back and how Panama's president is responding.
Plus, this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. CHRIS COONS (D-DE): These are people who should never be out of prison.
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SOLOMON: Presidential commutations. Once a staunch supporter of the death penalty, President Biden now commuting the sentences of dozens of federal Death Row inmates.
And this.
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SEN. JOE MANCHIN (I-WV): The "D" brand has -- has been so maligned from the standpoint of it's just -- it's toxic.
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SOLOMON: Just toxic. Former Democrat Joe Manchin, giving his harsh take on the state of the Democratic Party.
And then later.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Activity in the housing sector has been weak.
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SOLOMON: Prices and rates through the roof. The best strategy if you are in the market for a new home in the new year.
Six a.m. here on the East Coast with a live look at Capitol Hill, chilly Capitol Hill in chilly Washington.
Good morning, everyone. I'm Rahel Solomon, in today for Kasie Hunt. Great to be with you.
A man, a plan, a canal. Panama? President-elect Donald Trump is now vowing to retake control of the Panama Canal.
While speaking at a Turning Point USA event in Arizona this weekend, Trump added the Panama Canal to his growing list of international disputes, many of them dealing directly with U.S. trading partners and allies.
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TRUMP: Has anyone ever heard of the Panama Canal? Huh? Because we're being ripped off at the Panama Canal, like we're being ripped off everywhere else. A secure -- He just said, take it back. That's a good idea.
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SOLOMON: Panama's president, meantime, responding to the calls from Donald Trump, saying that his country would not relinquish control of the key waterway.
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JOSE RAUL MULINO, PRESIDENT OF PANAMA (through translator): As president, I want to express that every square meter of the Panama Canal and its adjacent areas belong to Panama and will continue to belong to Panama. The sovereignty and independence of our country are not negotiable.
The canal will continue to be in Panamanian hands as the patrimony of our nation, and guaranteeing its use for the peaceful and uninterrupted transit of ships of all nations.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOLOMON: Trump fired back with a new post on Truth Social, a picture of the U.S. flag, flying with the caption, "Welcome to the United States Canal."
And Trump's latest pronouncement is the latest in a string of statements targeting U.S. trade partners and global neighbors. In recent talks at Mar-a-Lago with Canada's prime minister, Trump joked that Trudeau could become governor of Canada as the 51st state. He then followed it up with another antagonizing post on Truth Social,
an A.I.-generated image of Trump on a mountaintop, declaring, "Oh, Canada!"
And also attracting Trump's interest again, is buying the territory of Greenland from Denmark. While announcing Ken Howery as his chances [SIC] -- choice as ambassador to Denmark, he mentioned in passing, quote, "The United States of America feels that the ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity," a topic which also came up during Trump's first term in office.
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TRUMP: The concept came up, and I said, certainly, I'd be -- strategically, it's interesting. And we'd be interested, but we'll talk to them a little bit. It's not No. 1 on the burner. I can tell you that.
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SOLOMON: Denmark's prime minister, meantime, at the time responding by calling the idea absurd and adding, quote, "Greenland is not for sale."
Joining me now to talk about all of this is our panel today: Annie Linskey, a reporter for "The Wall Street Journal"; Isaac Dovere, CNN senior reporter; Hyma Moore, former chief of staff to DNC chair Jaime Harrison; and Lance Trover, former spokesperson for Doug Burgum's presidential campaign. Welcome one. Welcome, one. Welcome, all. Great to have you. Lance, let me start
with you.
[06:05:02]
What's Trump trying to do here with -- with these words, with these actions targeted at U.S. trade partners, whether we're talking about Canada, Greenland, now Panama? I mean, what are your thoughts?
LANCE TROVER, FORMER SPOKESPERSON FOR DOUG BURGUM'S PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN: Well, I think it's going to be a whole new day in America, come January 20.
If you've been not treating America well when it comes to trade, if you've been allowing your borders to be wide open, well, there's a whole new day with Donald Trump coming into office.
On this Panama issue, I think we're talking about, and as has been referenced in there, this is a country that has thrown their arms wide. They have thrown themselves wide open into the arms of China; that China controls ports at both ends of the Panama Canal. Panama also severed relationships with Taiwan.
And then, lo and behold, guess what happens? They become part of the Chinese Communist Party's Belt and Road Initiative, which sees millions and millions of dollars shoved into their country. And so, I think this has much to do about China. Former Congressman
Mike Gallagher has a really good op-ed on this issue. It's a national security issue for America. I think that's the core of what's going on here.
SOLOMON: Hyma, let me switch gears and talk a little bit about Mexico. So, there was that reporting in the "Rolling Stone" shortly after the election, which cited Republican sources about military action against Mexico. I want to read for you a part of it.
It says, "Another source close to Trump describes to 'Rolling Stone' what they call a 'soft invasion' of Mexico, in which American Special Forces -- not a large theater deployment -- would be sent covertly to assassinate cartel leaders. Indeed, this is a preliminary plan that Trump himself warmed to in private conversations this year."
Hyma, your thoughts? I mean, what do we make and what do you make of everything we've seen so far about how Trump might conduct foreign policy in his next term?
Lance just said, you know, it's a new day.
HYMA MOORE, FORMER CHIEF OF STAFF TO DNC CHAIR JAIME HARRISON: Yes. Look, I'm not a Republican, but I am an American.
And it was clear in this election that, I think, some of the things that President Trump has been saying over the last couple of days really resonated with Americans.
However, when you think about these trade deals, when you think about international turmoil -- turmoil, the one thing that Americans elected Donald Trump to do was to lower costs, make their lives a little bit easier, make their healthcare choices a little bit easier, and make their -- their -- their costs go down.
And so, when you talk about this international turmoil, it's not just about, you know, being strong and making America look great again. This is about real American lives.
So, I think people really care about making sure that their jobs are there the next day, making sure that their health care can be taken care of, making sure that they can take care of their kids during the holidays and going back to schools.
And so, some of this stuff, governing by Truth Social is not going to be good. Even though it's a new day. As Lance said, it's not good stuff.
You've got to make sure, as president of the United States of America, you're thinking about things that people elected you to do. And people think costs are still too high, and they're still struggling. And so, they don't want to care about these things, about closing the borders, like Lance said.
They care about making sure that their lives are going to be a little bit better, and their costs are going to be going down. SOLOMON: Mm. Well, there's -- there's a lot there that we'll have to
circle back to. But Isaac, let me let you have the last word here and, and Annie, we'll bring you into the next conversation.
One thing that was really interesting this weekend, as you saw the president-elect acknowledge the line that Democrats have really seemed to latch on to during the budget negotiations: President Musk.
Take a listen to -- to one response that the president [SIC] had. President-elect had.
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TRUMP: Russia, Russia, Russia. Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine. All the different hoaxes. And the new one is President Trump has ceded the presidency to Elon Musk.
No, no, that's not happening, but Elon has done an amazing job. Isn't it nice to have smart people that we can rely on? Right?
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SOLOMON: Isaac, what do you make of that? I mean, on the one hand, he took the time to respond to it, that one aspect of what was otherwise a pretty, pretty extraordinary week in Washington.
EDWARD-ISAAC DOVERE, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Look, and obviously, registered for Donald Trump and got a little bit under his skin.
The Democrats have been using that line to say Musk is really in charge. He's the co-president. All the things that they've been doing in a very clear attempt to troll Donald Trump.
The question always, when people try to do this, is can you out-troll Donald Trump? And some of this is also just about what happened last week, which is, it seems, very clear that Elon Musk read or read tweets, at least, about what was in the initial spending bill; and his then subsequent tweets or "X" posts were part of what, at least temporarily, derailed that spending deal from happening.
It wasn't until after Musk had turned a bunch of Republicans in the House against the spending bill that Donald Trump weighed in. And what Trump asked for, which was a -- a long extension of the debt limit, or maybe getting rid of it entirely, it did not actually happen.
So, if you look at some of the actual things that went on last week, Musk was the one who scrambled the bill.
[06:10:09]
He also then said that there shouldn't be anything passed until Donald Trump is president. That didn't happen either.
So, I think we're at this place where we do not know exactly what the dynamic is going to be between Musk and Trump over the course of the next couple of years. These are two obviously very powerful men with a lot of entangled interests.
And Musk looking not just for causing trouble in the way that he is, but looking for things about government contracts and -- and things about the way that electric vehicles will be subsidized by the government.
And so, all of this is going to play out, and we will -- we will see what it really looks like. We -- I don't think we know quite yet.
SOLOMON: OK. Panel, don't go far. We'll check back with you shortly.
But in the meantime, coming up on CNN THIS MORNING, Israeli negotiators say that they are seeing real progress in hostage talks.
Ahead, the father of an Israeli-American hostage being held by Hamas will join us live.
Plus, drones falling out of the sky at a holiday light show. One young child, one little boy injured.
And in 1994, he wrote the bill that designated dozens of new capital offenses. Now, President Joe Biden is looking to change his legacy.
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JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This notion that this is not tough, there are 60 new penalties and 60 new death penalties. Brand-new, 60.
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[06:15:36]
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BIDEN: I'm a death penalty supporter. I'm the guy that wrote this bill. Presumptuous thing to say, but I wrote this bill. My own little hands. And I added into the bill more than 50 death penalties. I support the death penalty. This president supports the death penalty.
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SOLOMON: That was then-Senator Joe Biden, boasting about the 1994 Crime Bill, his 1994 Crime Bill, which added a list of federal crimes punishable by the death penalty.
But new this morning, President Joe Biden, now announcing that he is committing 37 federal Death Row inmates' sentences to life in prison without parole.
The move fulfills a promise that he made on the 2020 campaign trail.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JEN PSAKI, FORMER WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: President Biden has made clear, as he did on the campaign trail, that he has grave concerns about whether capital punishment, as currently implemented, is consistent with the values that are fundamental to our sense of justice and fairness.
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SOLOMON: But there are three names that are notably absent from this list of commutations. Convicts like the Boston Marathon bomber, Charleston church shooter Dylann Roof, and Tree of Life Synagogue mass shooter Robert Bowers all excluded from this list that was released this morning.
They were left off due to their crimes being terrorism or hate- motivated mass murder.
In a statement, the president said, quote, "Make no mistake: I condemn these murderers, grieve for the victims of their despicable acts, and ache for all the families who have suffered unimaginable and irreparable loss. But guided by my conscience and my experience as a public defender, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, vice president, and now president, I am more convinced than ever that we must stop the use of the death penalty at the federal level. In good conscience, I cannot stand by [SIC] and -- stand back and let a new administration resume executions that I halted."
All right. We have our panel back. So, Annie, let me start with you. What do you make and what do you think triggered this shift in position from Biden profoundly supporting the death penalty as a senator to now commuting dozens of death penalty sentences?
We obviously heard in that statement there on him sort of outline all of his different political experiences. What do you think?
ANNIE LINSKEY, REPORTER, "WALL STREET JOURNAL": Yes. Good morning.
I think that this -- this move by the president is driven by one of the main things that he is considering and thinking about in his final weeks as president, which is his legacy.
You know, shortly before this move was announced, the president's schedule added an additional trip, which I'll be going on, to Italy, where the president is going to be meeting with the pope.
And just weeks ago, the pope called, in a prayer on World Peace Day, for specifically, Death Row inmates in the United States to -- for their sentences to be commuted.
So, a major piece of this is the president thinking about how history will remember him. He -- our reporting has shown that he was stunned by the negative reaction by other -- some of his, you know, by U.S. Senators to his -- his sort of broad pardon of his son.
And I think this move, from a political perspective, he is hoping will change the -- the record a little bit and give him sort of a broader thing to -- to sort of hang a legacy on, rather than the Hunter pardon.
But it really is stunning how -- how much he has -- has shifted on this issue from that 1990s clip that you just played.
SOLOMON: Yes, yes, it is. And I mean, Biden, of course, a -- a devout Catholic. So, you have to wonder sort of how much his -- his religion played into this, as well.
Lance, let me get to you. Biden changed his stance, obviously, as president from when he was senator.
Donald Trump, meantime, has called for prosecuting more death penalty cases and carrying out executions for Death Row inmates.
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TRUMP: And I'm hereby calling for the death penalty for any migrant that kills an American citizen or a law enforcement officer.
We are an institute and a powerful death penalty. We will put this on. We have to bring in the death penalty if we want to stop the infestation of drugs coming into our country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOLOMON: Lance, I'm curious how you think Trump's Death Row stance may appeal to people who perhaps voted for him on the basis of things like the economy, the No. 1 issue for a lot of people, but maybe didn't pay as much attention to this issue, necessarily. What do you think?
[06:20:06]
TROVER: I think Donald Trump is the most out-there and open candidate we've ever had for president in the history of the country. It's not like he hides where he is on these positions -- on these positions.
Unlike Joe Biden. I mean, merry Christmas to child killers out there. I mean, this is absurd. It's reprehensible. Two days before Christmas, and he is pardoning.
But this is classic Joe Biden-esque in the final waning days of this sad presidency that he's had.
On one hand, he says he supports law and order in this country and then pardons his son for 11 years' worth of crimes, crimes that he pled guilty to.
On one hand, he again says, I support law and order and then pardons a bunch of child murderers out there, but then leaves three others to stay on the Death Row.
It makes absolutely no sense. It makes me wonder who is actually making these decisions at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in the waning days of this administration, because it sure does not seem like it's Joe Biden.
SOLOMON: Hyma, let me let you have the last word here. I see you shaking your head in response to what Lance is saying.
MOORE: Yes, look, I don't want to take cheap shots at the president. I think Joe Biden has been a fantastic president on many accords.
But look, we know two things about Joe Biden. He cares deeply about his faith. And to Annie's point, he's -- he's allowed his faith to help him make these decisions.
And secondly, one thing I really love about Joe Biden is when he is wrong, he's willing to say it. He's willing to evolve. He's willing to grow.
And so, this is an evolution of thought. And so, Joe Biden feels the same way he's felt about his faith for many years. But this is an evolution of thought, and he feels very strongly about bringing some equity to this process.
SOLOMON: OK, we'll leave it here. But panel, I will see you shortly. Stick around. Thank you.
And still ahead on CNN THIS MORNING, stranded on the lift. More than 100 people rescued from gondolas in Colorado. That's one of the five things you have to see this morning.
Plus, if you are looking to become a homeowner in 2025, you know it is rough out there. Ahead, the best strategy if you are hoping to buy. We'll get into it.
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[06:26:21]
SOLOMON: Twenty-five minutes, almost 26 minutes past the hour. And five things you have to see this morning.
U.S. launching a round of airstrikes targeting an Iranian-backed group in Yemen. U.S. Central Command says that the strikes were directed at a missile storage facility used to target U.S. Navy warships and civilian cargo vessels in the Red Sea.
Thieves in Canada drive a car right into a jewelry store before stealing tens of thousands of dollars' worth of gold. The store owner did try to fight back, but thieves smashed every case in the store.
Texas officials identifying the man who rammed his truck into a mall over the weekend. Fifty-three-year-old John Darrel Schultz led police on a 19-mile chase before crashing into the mall, hitting several people.
Officials ultimately shot and killed him.
And not how you would expect to get off of a gondola. More than 170 people had to be rescued after a lift broke down at a Colorado resort. Ski patrol brought each person down -- you see here -- one by one by rope -- with rope. It took more than five hours.
And a proud Tiger after this play from 15-year-old Charlie Woods.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The PNC Championship. He wasn't sure it went in, but it was a --
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SOLOMON: Charlie's first hole in one at the PNC Championship.
Now, despite that stellar shot, the father and son duo did not take home the win. But I'm sure a clearly special moment between the two.
And we all know that 2024 was a wild ride. We can call it a wild ride. A year filled with both great and not-so-great moments. So be sure to join CNN's Tom Foreman and his special guests for "All the Best, All the Worst," this Thursday at 11 p.m.
And up next on CNN THIS MORNING, high prices, sluggish sales. The U.S. housing market faced a tough year in 2024. What could help improve things in the new year?
Plus, today, the House Ethics Committee is expected to release their report on former Congressman Matt Gaetz as he weighs what's next.
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MATT GAETZ (R), FORMER FLORIDA REPRESENTATIVE: Many have asked which perch I will be fighting from next. And some of you throughout this conference have even given me a few suggestions.
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